The Jong village has received relief on December 15, 2022, when Special Task Force Operation SAFE HAVEN (OPSH) relocates the community’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their ancestral territory following a 2015 attack.
This information was included in a press statement that Captain Oya James, the media information officer for Operation Safe Haven, gave to journalists.
The Commander Sector 4 Operation SAFE HAVEN, Colonel Danjuma Abdulsalam, stated in his welcome speech that the Plateau state crises of 2015 and 2018 resulted in a large number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) dispersed in different camps, some of whom were forced to live in harsh conditions with family members. He thanked the Commander OPSH for being sympathetic to the situation of the displaced residents of the Jong community and other communities who want to relocate.
The Sector 4 Commander made a plea to all branches of government as well as to private citizens to help displaced people rebuild their destroyed houses and provide basic facilities to facilitate their safe return.
In his message of goodwill, Senator Istifanus Gyang, who represents Plateau North in the National Assembly and is the vice-chairman of the defense committee, praised the contributions made by Commander Operation SAFE HAVEN, Major General Ibrahim Ali, in helping to restore peace to the state’s problematic areas. He pledged unwavering support for whatever measures required to protect the safety of the Plateau people.
Speaking at the event, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division of the Nigerian Army and Commander of Operation SAFE HAVEN, Major General Ibrahim Ali, said the Jong community’s return to its ancestral land was an example for other displaced people to consider returning to their original lands, and he pledged to provide the necessary support to make this happen.
Operation SAFE HAVEN Commander told the crowd that the sad situation that caused the community’s eviction had been resolved for some time by various strategies supported by appropriate authorities in the corridor of peace. He also declared the stationing of armed guards to protect the Jong village and its neighboring communities from any potential external threats and attacks.
Major General Ali continued by saying that stern security measures have been implemented to guarantee that no community within the Operation SAFE HAVEN Joint Operations Area would ever again be assaulted or uprooted. He praised the work of the board established for the safe return of IDPs to their native homes as well as the 36-member peace committee formed to offer strategies for achieving reconciliation between warring tribes/communities.
A number of dignitaries, including the Gbong Gwom Jos, the head of the Barikin-Ladi local government region, Justice Longji Daniel (Retd), and others, expressed their satisfaction at the return of the people to their homes after a seven-year exile.
The cultural display, drama, prize presentations, spoken word performance, commissioning of certain historic projects, and group portrait were the event’s highlights.
